Mac had been working hard to clear the land we had bought at Belmont, he wanted to have fruit trees in place before he started to build. We had to wait quite some time for our bank loan to go through, we couldn’t start buying building materials until the mortgage with Barclay’s had been finalized. It was rather daunting to know that for the next 20 years we would be making monthly payments to the bank, it seemed like such a long time!
It was obvious right from the start that our Architect’s construction figures were too low, the house was going to cost at least twice his estimate to build. It was an ambitious project, and the fact that Mac wanted to import a lot of the building materials was a contributing factor to the cost. We had toured a roofing factory in Barrie Ontario that summer, and had been impressed by the quality of the steel tile they manufactured. However, it wasn’t cheap, and by the time transport and importation costs had been paid it was going to put a major dent in our bank account!
One day I was strolling past the Frangipani with the blueprints from our architect, Mario Spinella. Son Mitchell stopped me and asked if he could see the plans, Mario had recently designed the Gingerbread complex and he was curious to see the design for our house. We spread the blueprints out on one of the Frangi’s picnic tables, and when Son saw the drawings for the main water tank he started to laugh. “Girl”, he said, “that water tank is too big! Do you know how much that is going to cost to build?” “Well”, I said, “You can never have too much water on Bequia!” The water tank for the Pizzeria had been constructed around the ruins of an old sugar mill Mac had found when he started to build the restaurant. The original plan had been for a bigger tank, but with a structure already in place he took advantage of it. While this saved on construction materials I was often forced to buy water, something I hated having to do. The main tank under our master bedroom porch would hold 46,000 gallons, with a smaller tank located under the dining room porch. Mac wanted to be sure we had enough water and so did I! That big tank would be providing water for the Pizzeria as well as our home….
Burt Davis came with his bulldozer, and soon the land had a gaping big hole in it. The water tank is always built first on Bequia, and it has to be built RIGHT. The last thing any Bequia homeowner needs or wants is a leaking water tank, or even worse a tank that crumbles and collapses. Once the floor of the tank has been cast the walls are built with bricks and rebar, steel rods that are placed through the blocks for added strength. When the walls have been completed the tank top is cast, with an opening left for access as well as an opening for overflow. Mac planned to use red clay tiles from Venezuela for the porches, and they would be the finishing touch on top of the tank
The day the floor was cast for the big water tank Mac collected Vanessa and Rachel from school, and together we pressed Canadian silver dollars into the fresh concrete, one coin for each corner. I had been saving the silver dollars for that little ceremony and was thankful that we were finally using them. Mac raised a Canadian flag alongside a Bequia flag, and they flew as symbols of the family’s roots throughout the construction of the house.
Every time I saw the water supply boat making its way through the harbor I would chuckle to myself. It was the Frangipani buying water. AGAIN. I meant it when I said that you can never have enough water on Bequia!